Survival Instinct: A Story of Mindoir
by Wyolake
Summary: A look at where Commander Shepard started. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**Survival Instinct: A Story of Mindoir**

**A/N: This is the story of Commander Malea Shepard's beginning on the colony world of Mindoir from Mass Effect. Standard disclaimer: Bioware owns all. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Update: Fixed some typos. Chapter 2 will be up soon.**

* * *

The sun was getting low in the sky when Malea Shepard finished her chores and headed inside the small modular "house" for supper. It had been a bad day at school and she wasn't in the best of moods.

Malea was lost in thought during dinner and was only vaguely aware of her parents conversation. "Are you going to eat, or just chase the food around your plate, Mal?" Malea looked up at her father and grimaced at the laughter in his blue eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"What's wrong, dear?" Her mother asked.

Malea sighed and debated about whether to tell them. She loved her parents, but she was closest to her father. They both shared a sarcastic sense of humor that her mother never quite understood.

"Bryan Vantin asked me to go to the Fall Dance with him," Malea said morosely and looked at her parents to see if they understood how dire this event was. They didn't.

"Oh, that's right!" Hannah Shepard cooed. "The high school dance is only a week away."

Malea grimaced at the enthusiasm in her mother's voice.

"You don't want to go with Bryan?" her father asked and she thought she heard laughter behind the question. Her father understood her tom-boyish nature. Her mother was always trying to force Malea to be more feminine.

"I don't want to go to the dance," Malea explained. "I don't care that it was Bryan that asked me."

"Sweetheart!" Malea cringed in her seat. _Here comes the "be a girl" speech from mother._ "You are sixteen, beautiful and smart. You have to go to the dance; it's a hallmark of growing up."

Malea tossed her long honey-blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I have homework I better get started on," she mumbled as she left the table.

* * *

Malea was awakened suddenly by a loud rumble. She blinked and looked at the time display. 0115 in the morning. It took her a few minutes as the rumble grew to a roar to identify the sound as a transport ship landing. Why would it be landing near their house? The town and spaceport were a couple miles away.

Malea jumped up and quickly put on pants and a shirt. She had the feeling something was very wrong. She was reaching in the closet for her shotgun when she heard her father call her. She thought he sounded concerned, as well. "I'm almost ready," she yelled as she put the weapon on the bed and grabbed her boots.

She had just finished lacing up one boot when she heard her father yell and her mother scream. A gun blast sounded in the living room. Malea froze. Who had shot a gun in their house? She heard her father scream her mother's name. Malea had never heard her father sound scared, but this sounded beyond panicked. Another gunshot sounded in the living room.

Malea jumped up, grabbed her shotgun and ran to her door. When the door opened she peeked outside while priming the weapon. There in the living room was an alien with four eyes standing over her father. Why is he laying on the ground? She thought, frozen with fear. The alien turned to look at her and raised its gun. Without thinking Malea took aim and hit the alien in the chest with the shotgun. The alien – Malea remembered learning in school they were called Batarians – went down.

Malea ran to her father's side. Blood was gushing out of the side of his neck and he was feebly trying to get up. "Dad!" She yelled as she knelt beside him.

Daniel Shepard grabbed her arm and looked at her. "Run," he gasped. "Hide..." he went limp.

"Dad!" she yelled again as tears poured down her cheeks. She shook him and put her head to his chest, but she already knew he was gone. Malea sat up and picked up her shotgun. She saw her mother lying motionless in the hallway and stumbled over there. Her mother's glassy eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling and the bloody mess that had been her chest told Malea her mother was gone.

Malea sobbed as she stood there. Two more aliens entered the front door and Malea ran for the back. Stifling her sobs as she locked the door behind her, Malea ran to the window and looked toward the barn. There were several Batarians wandering around and she realized she would not be able to get to the vehicle and drive to town.

She heard something hit the door and she ran to the window on the other wall. Opening it, she slipped out and cradled her shotgun close. It was dark on this side of the house. No lights from the aliens or the house reached here. Malea didn't waste any time. She began to sprint away from the house hoping to reach the treeline. She heard a shout behind her and light suddenly bathed the area. She ran faster as she gasped and sobbed.

Malea kept running through the trees. She had never laced up her other boot and her foot flopped in the loose leather. She was unaware of it or anything else as she mindlessly kept running. It wasn't until her foot caught on something and she went sprawling on the forest floor that she became aware of her surroundings.

Her chest ached from running so long and her breath came in quick little gasps as she put down her shotgun and tried to lace up her boot. It took several tries as she was shaking too hard to have any dexterity.

She leaned back against a tree and tried to catch her breath. She had no idea where she was or how far she had run. A foot kicked the shotgun away from her and she was knocked to the ground before she had fully risen. Two Batarians and one human man looked down at her.

One of the Batarians babbled something and the other made a sound that might have been a laugh.

"Yep," drawled the human. "She's a fine one. I get first go."

The first Batarian made angry sounds and pushed the human. "Fine," the man said sullenly. "You're the boss. But I get her next."

Malea started to kick backwards and get away, but was grabbed instantly by the Batarian. She became hysterical and kicked, clawed, hit.

Hands fell away from her and she began running again. She ran and ran, never knowing if they were following. After an eternity she saw buildings ahead and took cover behind some crates. Somehow she had made it to town. There was something heavy in her right hand and looking down she realized she had a pistol. She didn't remember how she had gotten it.

Once she had regained her breath she began creeping her way through the buildings. The communications center was also an emergency shelter and she hoped she could find safety there.

As Malea went around the corner of a building she froze. There was someone hunkered down behind the wreckage of a vehicle. Malea inched closer and realized it was her friend, Cassie. Malea hurried over to the girl. "Cassie!" Malea gasped quietly, but the girl just sat there staring straight ahead, making little mewling noises.

"Cass, it's me. Malea," she grabbed the girls shoulder and gave her a shake. "We have to get out of here. Come on!" Malea tried to pull Cassie to her feet, but the petrified girl was dead weight. She gave no indication of realizing Malea was there.

The now familiar chattering of the Batarians could be heard coming from the side of the building. Panic built in Malea as she tried to get her friend moving. She managed to lift Cassie to her feet hissing that the Batarians were coming, but the girl didn't move. Four Batarians turned the corner and saw the two girls.

"Cassie, run!" Malea yelled as she started running away from the aliens. She ran about twenty yards and looked back. Cassie hadn't moved and two of the Batarians were on her. One slung the girl over his shoulder. Almost without thinking, Malea raised the pistol and the second alien's chest exploded. The alien with Cassie slung over his shoulder shouted something and suddenly the other two aliens came at Malea from her left.

A foot kicked her wrist as she started to swing the pistol toward them and the gun skittered out of her numb hand. She was knocked to the ground as one of them came up to her.

Malea kicked out and caught the side of the alien's knee. He howled and went down as the joint made a satisfying crack. Malea jumped to her feet and turned toward the second alien. The alien showed his teeth in what might have been a grin. Malea saw movement out of the corner of her left eye and had just enough time to realize it was a rifle butt before her left temple exploded in pain.


	2. That's What Survivors Do

**CHAPTER 2: That's What Survivors Do**

Malea became aware of her surroundings and wished she hadn't. Her head throbbed painfully and her stomach churned. Her mouth was sour and she realized she must have vomited at some point. She knew she was lying on hard concrete.

Slowly the cacophony of noise around her began to be recognizable. She heard gunfire in the distance; sharp and constant. There were sobs and screams from all around her. Some were male and some female, both young and old.

Malea felt her stomach clench and she managed to roll over on the hard concrete below her before emptying the contents of her stomach. The action made her head hurt even worse and she felt dizzy. She lay there panting as she kept her eyes closed, hoping the horrifying sounds around her would stop. This couldn't be real it had to be a nightmare that would end soon.

Malea slowly opened her eyes and fought the nausea and dizziness that gripped her. It took some time for the scene around her to come into focus and even then her vision would swim and darken on and off. She lay next to some crates and she realized she, and the other prisoners, were at the space port. She managed to slowly bring herself to a sitting position against the crates and glanced around.

There were a couple of ships a good distance off to her left. She could see the aliens taking cages of prisoners into it and other aliens were coming out to get more. In front of her was the main space port terminal, but it was too far away and smoke was pouring out of it. She realized she couldn't get that far and was unlikely to find help if she made it.

A new scream erupted from her right and she inched to the end of the crates and peeked around. There were colonists scattered all over the landing pad. Some were fighting to escape the aliens who held them, some just sat silent staring vacantly. A few seemed to be either unconscious or dead, they lay unmoving.

Malea watched as a couple of Batarians roughly dragged a girl to her feet and headed for one of the cages. Malea recognized Cassie and was horrified at how docile her friend was. Cassie had the same vacant look as some of the others and Malea noticed a piece of metal on the girl's left temple. There was a trickle of blood down the side of her face, but Cassie merely staggered along with her captors.

Another scream caught Malea's attention and she looked across and saw two Batarians restraining Ms. Helmuti, the new science teacher at the high school. As Malea watched the young woman scream and kick one of the Batarians put something against her temple. Her teacher's screams became shrieks of utter pain and fear as the alien twisted the metal item into the woman's temple. Ms. Helmuti suddenly went slack and her eyes took on the same distant expression Cassie had shown.

Malea pulled back against the crate and closed her eyes against what she'd just seen. She fought to keep her panic in check and panted to keep from throwing up again. The sound of heavy boots coming to a stop made her eyes snap open. She looked up at a Batarian who'd come up to her and couldn't stop a panicked whimper from escaping her throat.

The alien bent over to grab her arm and pull her up, but before he could get a good grip an explosion not far away distracted him. Malea didn't even stop to think as she pulled on his extended arm as her foot shot out and kicked his knee. The alien slammed face-first on the hard pavement. Without hesitation Malea was up and running. Her vision kept swimming and she couldn't maintain a straight line, but she didn't stop. Her head pounded viciously, but she kept going. She stumbled and ran into a couple of things – people maybe, but she wasn't sure. There were shouts and more explosions, but Malea wasn't sure if they were after her.

Something slammed into her and she was thrown off her feet and against a crate. She screamed in fear as another Batarian came toward her. Completely panicked, Malea screamed as tears poured from her eyes. Her vision swam as she launched herself at her attacker. Acting purely on instinct and terror she knocked the Batarian on the ground and picked up the pistol he'd dropped. She was dimly aware of the sound of gunfire close by as she screamed until she was hoarse. Black edges began to obscure her vision and she slid down the crates to the pavement as the darkness engulfed her.

* * *

Sergeant Piotr Crimatov walked slowly with his squad across the landing pad of the Mindoir space port. The Batarian ships had made it off the surface before the Alliance forces could stop them. Crimatov and his squad had been searching the area for over an hour, but all they'd found were bodies. Both colonists and slavers lay dead all over, the scene was more horrifying than anything he'd ever experienced in his eight years in the military.

Crimatov froze as a sound to the left behind some crates caught his attention he motioned to Pehlin and La Croix to take defensive positions and brought his weapon up. "Alliance military! Show yourself, nice and slow!" he shouted.

He was stunned to see a young woman stand up behind the crate. Her long blonde hair hung limply in dirty strands over her shoulders and he could see how it was clumped on the left side of her head from blood. Tear tracks were clearly visible through the dirt and blood on her face and she weaved unsteadily as she looked at them. Her eyes were unfocused and it was clear that she was severely hurt and exhausted.

"It's alright," Crimatov said softly as he lowered his gun. "We're here to help you." He took a couple steps toward the girl only to freeze as she raised a pistol at him. As unsteady as she had been a moment ago, she was now still as a statue and the gun didn't waiver in the slightest.

Crimatov heard a muttered curse from Pehlin, but he kept his attention on the traumatized teen in front of him. "I'm human and I'm not going to hurt you," Crimatov said calmly as he slowly removed his helmet. "You're okay, sweetheart. It's safe now."

The girl stared at him for a long moment before slowly lowering her weapon. A sob tore from her and Crimatov quickly covered the couple of feet between them. He managed to catch her before she could fall. He held her tightly as she broke down entirely. He stroked her back and whispered to her as La Croix radioed for transport and medical.

* * *

Malea lie quietly in the bed in the ships medical bay facing the wall by her bed. She had cried constantly for two days as doctors and the ship's Captain asked her questions. Now she just felt drained and alone, she didn't have any more tears left in her.

She heard the door to the medbay open, but she didn't stir. She just wanted to be left alone now.

"Hey, kid," Crimatov said from her bedside.

She didn't respond or turn over to look at him. He had come every day and had tried to comfort her. What comfort? She'd lost everything and knew she'd never feel whole again. She knew she should probably feel more grateful to him for saving her, but she didn't have the energy.

Malea felt something being dropped on the foot of her bed, but she continued to stare at the hard wall in front of her.

"Come on, kid. Get dressed and I'll take you to the mess to get something to eat," Crimatov said in a kind, but brisk tone.

"No," Malea said simply.

"You need to get up," Crimatov said in a no-nonsense tone that his soldiers probably followed without question.

"Why," Malea whispered morosely.

Crimatov squatted next to her bed and spoke softly, but there was a steely conviction to his tone. "Because you're a survivor and that's what survivors do – they get up and keep going."

He was quiet a moment but when Malea didn't respond he reached out and tugged on her hair. "You have five minutes to get dressed or I'll take you out in the hospital gown."

She heard him leave the room and she sighed heavily. She didn't really believe his threat, but decided she better not push it. Slowly she got out of bed and put on the pants and shirt he'd dropped on her bed. She pulled on her shoes and sat on the bed until he came back in.

Crimatov stood at the open door and gestured to her. Slowly Malea stood and joined him. He gave her a crooked smile as she approached.

"You seriously eat in a place you call the "mess"?" she said with a grimace.

Crimatov laughed loudly and tugged her hair again. "Yep. C'mon, it's not as bad as it sounds."

Malea gave him her best doubtful look, but she couldn't quite help the tiny smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it. I've been wanting to do an "origin" story for each of the Shepard backgrounds. Keep an eye out for the Earth backstory. Please review and let me know what you think and what I can improve on.**


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